About twointhailand

สวัสดี ("Hello!") We are two friends from college. We are spending the next two months in Bangkok, Thailand! We know that God is doing great things here in Bangkok and we are so excited to witness and be a part of this. This blog is just a snapshot of our life here that we want to share with you all! Love from Thailand, Kirsten and Kindra.

Yesterday, Tuesday, was our last worship time at the Well. Worship happens a couple times a week and it is usually the only time all the students and staff are in the same room. So, this was the last time we’d all be in the same room before Kirsten and I leave. We sang normal thai worship songs. Different people shared, including myself. It was a great last time. I was completely overwhelmed. There were tears ( a lot on my part. kirsten doesn’t cry anymore ) and laughing and gifts and many many encouraging words and a lot of prayer. It is amazing that God gave Kirsten and I the opportunity to come to Bangkok. We both have been blessed beyond words by this experience. The Well has given me a whole new prospective on the Creator. God is good all the time and I see that here. God is powerful. God is in control. And nothing is impossible for Him. I will always remember these men and women. This country is beautiful, but nothing is more beautiful than the body of Christ being the body.

Monday. Our friend Karen convinced Kindra and I that we should take her to see some temples and the Sleeping Buddah that is famous here in Bangkok. We headed to take full advantage of the afternoon. We made the trek to the temples. Kindra and I were sitting outside one of the temples while Karen looked around inside. We were just sitting and chatting. Many tourist were milling about around us. Then an Indian man came up to Kindra. “Can I take picture?” Taken aback, Kindra said sure… It all happened so fast, but the best way to describe the next moments is that a SWARM of about 15 Indian men got out their cameras and started having a photo shoot with the really white girl with really blonde hair… I was laughing so hard! I did collect myself enough to snap a couple photos of the occurrence, then we had to shoo them all away. We walked away thinking, “What in the world just happened??!” Shady.

Walking around the temple everything was so ornate. Kindra, Karen, and I took a moment to talk about Buddhism. It’s so sad to me. Reaching Nirvana. Beating your body and following a million rules to remove all human desires. I can’t help but feeling so sad that this religion is the most prominent here. I talked to a young monk the other day. He initiated the conversation. I learned later that this is against their rules so I’m really shocked he talked to me at all. He was 19 years old. He told me that he has been a monk for 6 years, but he wants to “disrobe” (take a break from being a monk) for awhile so that he can do what he wants for awhile. Then, he said, he’ll become a monk again after he gets his fill of the fun life. I left that conversation with a lot on my mind… Discipline is not a bad thing by any means. It’s actually very good, but we were created to feel and create and BE HUMAN. We have desires – LIKE EATING.. Monks aren’t allowed to eat supper. I couldn’t help thinking that all this work was put into these temples, so much effort is expended forcing yourself to follow a million rules and in the end it is a very, very empty life.

SOOOOO, friends, live a full life! Live a life with meaning!!! 🙂

I also believe the title of this blog begs an explanation. If you haven’t heard.. Planking is lying flat on your stomach in ridiculous places and taking a picture of yourself. Sooo of course we had to plank at the temple. Enjoy.

This past week a good good woman came to visit the Well. Her name is Karen and she is a teacher in DC. She also is an impressive persuader . It took one 5 minute conversation for her to convince us that we needed to fly to Chiang Mai with her. We took the day to book all the necessary things : plane, hotel, and bus. Then we were off! The weekend was packed with too too many fun times, but I would love to share the highlights! So it all started with the w o r s t bus ride of all time . I was so angry I almost cried. But we got to check into our hotel at 530 in the morning ( which would never happen in the states). So the day turned around right away. The hotel bed was AMAZING!!! It’s like a cloud! And we had a hot shower …. We haven’t had a hot shower in two months. I’m a happy girl and I think Kirsten was in heaven. After a quick nap, we started the day with a blueberry muffin and coffee from the good old Starbucks and then saw alll the old city (walk walk walk walk). Next great lunch at a cute cafe. Then we went to a cooking school. We spent five hours learning to cook lots of different Thai dishes . It was so fun and I met so many cool people . Two people from South Africa, Fioana and Charolette. They were fantastic old women!! Kirsten and I can’t wait to be them!! Cooking was a blast! That was Saturday ..

Sunday consisted of…

We rode elephants ! They were so so so so cute. We hiked a few miles to a giant waterfall for a swim . Then we went white water rafting and then bamboo rafting too . We did all of that for 30 American dollars ! That’s nuts! It was tons a fun. After all of that we went swimming in our hotel pool took showers and went to the night Market. We slept on our clouds one more time and then flew home! ( love airasia )

Chiang Mai was beautiful. Breath taking really. And we had great company. All and all I am a very happy girl!

Its been a while since we have blogged so I thought I would give some highlights of the past month.
A few weekends ago Kirsten Summer and I went to the beach . We literally were there for maybe 48 hours BUT it was such a good and beautiful experience. We drank smoothies, sat on the beach, and just soaked up the beauty of this country. Here are just a few pictures of the experience .

“Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.” Pablo Picasso

One Wednesday in June we held an art workshop. The idea of the workshop was not to teach brush stroke or shading but rather it was a life detox. Creative expression is a sign of a healthy person. A healthy human should love . discover . and create . We were created in the image of an extremely creative being, take a look outside or in the mirroer. So the idea of having a morning during the week to express yourself seemed perfect.

About 15 students attended. They painted water colors and used pastels. I am sure the students had a great time but I might have had a better time. It was fun but also it gave a very light feeling . I felt like there could have been some real clarity from the workshop, or just some messy hands. Regardless, it was a great time. I will have to get photos up soon. . .